Field: The invention is in the field of commercial production of French fries for packaging and sale, usually as a wholly or partially pre-cooked product marketed in deep-frozen condition.
State of the Art: French fries of the general type concerned are well known as a commercial product. Efforts of producers have been directed toward achieving a visually appealing and palatable product for offering to retail consumers in supermarkets and the like and for use by restaurants and institutional consumers in providing tasty potato servings. It has been recognized that the manner in which the French fries are browned in frying plays an important part in both appearance and palatability, and, in an effort to achieve satisfaction from these standpoints, an extruded French fry has heretofore been produced having alternate ridges and valleys extending longitudinally of the product. The valleys afford free flow of the frying fat along the lengths of the French fries during frying, but do not provide maximum crispness and other desirable characteristics in the fried product. Heretofore, any natural cracking of the ridges transversely of their lengths has been regarded as undesirable and has been avoided as much as possible.